The term “adaptive optical device” used in this description is intended to encompass bother so-called “active optical devices” and “adaptive optics”, such as adaptive mirrors. Active optical devices are known in the prior art. The adaptive optical devices are used for radiation of the visible spectral range to correct aberrations of reflecting surfaces. Fields of application for the adaptive optical device include, but are not limited to, astronomical telescopes, high-performance lasers, the human eye or lithographic systems.
The adaptive optical devices are equipped with a plurality of actuators which can, for example, modulate the shape of a reflecting surface, such as a mirror. The modulation of such a mirror is frequently carried out in real-time. The plurality of actuators are, for example, piezoelectric actuators, hydraulic actuators or pneumatic actuators and deform local portions of the mirror. In other applications, the plurality of actuators are membranes that are controlled by electrostatic fields.
The active optical devices with a deformable mirror, for example, are often used for guidance of impinging rays of light wherein the rays of light are emitted by a point source of light. The rays of light can have a long wavelength and are reflected at a surface of the deformable mirror.
Currently in the area of soft and hard X-rays transformations of a beam of X-rays are used without any corrections and it is trusted to the mechanical precision of the manufactured mirrors.